DeepSeek is close to finalizing a deal to raise about 50 billion yuan ($7.4 billion) from investors including Tencent Holdings Ltd. and its own founder in one of China’s largest startup financings, a milestone for a domestic AI industry seeking capital to take on marquee US names like OpenAI.

Tencent Holdings Ltd. shares advanced the most since late 2022 after a report it’s testing a prototype AI agent fueled optimism about the company’s artificial intelligence efforts.